Making the Switch: How Eley Hawk Are Shaping the Future of Lead-Free Shotgun Cartridges

Written in partnership with a brand we love, Eley Hawk

It’s late April and the shooting sector is still waiting to hear exactly what the future will hold for lead ammunition. Put simply, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) sent its recommendations for restriction proposals to the government in December 2024, and among those is a restriction on the sale and use of lead shotgun cartridges for live quarry shooting, with a transition timeline of five years.

Moving with the times

However you view it, since the joint statement from the nine shooting and countryside organisations in 2020 which called for a move away from lead and single-use plastic wads by 2025, there’s little doubt cartridge companies in the UK have made a lot of progress developing viable options. In this article, we’ll hear from the oldest manufacturer of ammunition in the UK, and explore the simple steps we might take as shooters to find the lead-free cartridge that suits us best. After all, as the days grow longer and warmer, isn’t it an ideal time to get out and experiment?

Eley Hawk is a near-200-year-old brand with a sterling fieldsports heritage. Many a seasoned game shot will have accounted for their first pheasant with a paper-cased Eley Grand Prix, and younger generations will no doubt be familiar with the Birmingham-based stalwart’s other offerings, like the VIP Game and Zenith.

Eco-Friendly Focus: The Pro Eco Wad and Beyond

A rich history doesn’t put paid to a forward-thinking mindset, though… “An innovative approach to research and development is central to our ethos,” said production manager Martyn Powers when we caught up with him on the phone recently. “I’ve been at Eley Hawk since 1978, and the focus has always been on moving with the times and working with the shooting fraternity to serve its needs. “For a number of years now we've been striving to ensure we have affordable and viable alternatives to lead cartridges in our range.” Indeed, Eley was the first to bring a steel shot cartridge with a biodegradable, water-soluble wad to market. The ‘Pro Eco Wad’ is made entirely with organic materials, and the pioneering shot cups – needed to protect one’s barrels from steel, it being a harder metal than lead – are plastic-free and eventually break down to leave no trace.

But developing such a cartridge in a commercially feasible way hasn't been without its challenges. “The investment required to manufacture these components goes without saying,” explained Martyn. “Sourcing the eco-friendly materials while keeping sight of their cost and the impact that might have on the end user, and shooting in general, is also something we’ve had to be very conscious of.”

So, how to get the most out of steel cartridges?

Whichever way you look at it, cartridges are a considered purchase. And, more importantly, we need them to do their job; they need to be effective. When it comes to efficacy, increasing emphasis is being placed on the value of doing your homework and physically testing different steel cartridge options if you’re to find one that performs well with your gun and choke and for your anticipated quarry.

And that means experimenting with different loads and shot sizes through a given choke at various distances, before counting pellets in a 30-inch circle and assessing the consistency and density of the patterns achieved.

Start with Compatibility: Proofmarks and Cartridge Length

“Ensuring your gun is steel shot proofed and compatible with the cartridges being produced now is the obvious place to start,” advised Martyn, keen to rewind a little to a crucial point. “You need to match the length of the cartridge case to the length of your gun’s chambers, too.”

It’s worth pointing out here that there are two distinct ‘types’ of steel shot cartridge – ‘standard’ and ‘high performance’. If your barrels are stamped with ‘STEEL SHOT’ and/or have a fleur-de-lys proofmark, you can use high-performance steel shot (which should be marked as such on the box). If your gun is not proofed for high-performance steel, but it is proofed for ‘nitro’, you will need to use standard steel shot.

Test and Tune: Finding Your Perfect Pattern

Compatibility checked and sorted, it’s to the pattern plate… “Then, yes, it’s worthwhile testing different cartridges to see which pattern best through your gun,” said Martyn. “There’s a lot of advice out there on how to do this correctly and how to match the shot size of your cartridge to your chosen quarry and shooting discipline.”

It’s widely accepted that a prescriptive approach, which requires more thought about intended purpose, will be the key as more people make the switch. “If you’re shooting ducks at 30-40 yards,” continued Martyn, “your needs will be quite different to someone who is shooting partridges over hedgerows or pigeons over decoys.”

More Choice Than Ever: Eley’s Expanding Lead-Free Range

Fortunately, the array of options is ever-growing; Eley’s selection of lead-free cartridges alone is pretty extensive and gives you an idea of quite how much choice there is out there. “As well as our Zenith Steel and VIP Steel with Pro Eco Wad technology, we have our Grand Prix Traditional Steel, Grand Prix Traditional Bismuth, ESP HP Steel, and VIP Steel and Bismuth,” explained Martyn.

“They all offer something a little different, but when it comes to finding the perfect match, we’ll leave that bit to you…”